The Fate of the Television

Last night, we were sitting around having a discussion about the future of television. In Star Trek, there are no televisions. When a few 1990's people were released from cryogenic sleep, the first thing one of them asked for was a television and he was told that "ancient technology" had become extinct long ago. At the time that episode was released (circa 1988) that was a big funny joke.

But is it?

I can download books into my Kindle and read anywhere, any time. My iPhone allows me to check e-mail, add to my blog, look at facebook, or even watch YouTube from anywhere I happen to be. It's even more polite since I have my headphones and no one else has to listen to another episode of Top Chef.

I don't think I am ready to pack up my television, though. I used to say I would keep it for my video games, but I have video games on my iPod. However, there is something to be said for kicking back at night on the couch with a large screen facing me as I catch up with Greg House or see the latest wannabes on Idol. I do believe we are getting close to a time when DVD players will no longer be necessary. I already use my DVR on a daily basis and would happily download movies if that were an option. With my Kindle, I can purchase a brand-new book and be reading it within a few minutes, no shipping and handling costs and no long wait to see what happens to Katniss.

There's something to be said for that.

Yes, I can download to my iPod, but the size of the screen will always be a factor.

After all, I am typing this on my desktop.

Apple Conference

I am here in Memphis attending an Apple conference. That is actually way cooler than it sounds (although to geeks, that sounds pretty cool as it is).

As soon as I signed in, I was given an iPod touch and iMac pro to use for the day. How different is that? Once we sat in the conference hall, we were given a little package. I knew what it was before I opened mine - earbuds.

Funny thing, I forgot all about needing earbuds to teach iPod. I know I only want to use MY earbuds when I am listening to my iPod. And, of course, these are the special earbuds that have the little mic built in so that you can use the audio memo feature. Because I had planned to do an iPod course using that feature, it occurred to me that I might need to get a large supply of earbuds. So I asked the presenter: How much? When I was quoted a $30 price tag, I staggered a little. Maybe I can come up with something else.

Ok, so, I didn't mean to go off on the cost tangent. That isn't even the point. Everything I have seen today is not really new to me; it just shows me new ways of using technology in the classroom. We were given an assignment electronically. In the assignment, we were required to:

• watch podcasts
• comment on them in a Note
• use an App to calculate energy usage
• use the calculator to apply this to our own lives
• post our findings on a wiki

Now, see, none of that is really earth-shattering, but when you think of it from the standpoint of being a teacher and using this with a classroom full of kids, it really puts a spin on it. A cool, exciting spin that I think would get kids going.

One big difference is that the attendees are mainly computer-literate even though the presenter keeps referring to us as "digital immigrants" so she only had to give the directions once. The kids, being "digital natives," don't even need that. Of course, we have one lady that needs a little extra help manipulating the technology and a couple of die-hard PC people (not me!) that need some mac tutoring, but all in all, it's as smooth as glass.

I'm excited about teaching all of this. I'd like to get some 4N6 kids involved in helping make some podcasts. No one can beat their voices.

I Am Afraid of Pit Bulls

I hate to admit that, but it is true.

I was walking "The Kids" one day when we came face-to-face with one. He was less than half the size of either of my Saints, light tan with patches of white, with Saint-like markings on his face. He blocked the sidewalk.

I stood there and looked at him as he looked at us.

Marty, my big male that I was fostering at the time, was very excited. I couldn't tell if he wanted to rip the little guy's head off or run and play with him.

Ella was bored. She even yawned.

For me, I was terrified. Every single clip I had ever seen of pit bulls fighting flashed into my head. We were standing next to Highway 89 and the traffic was heavy. Must've been a Saturday. Luckily, we were on the edge of a field, so I took off walking into the field. The pit bull stayed with us. I didn't know what to do. I stopped and faced him, stamped my foot once as (hopefully) if to say "We are deadly. Go away." He just stood there, not growling or wagging his tail, and looked at us with curiosity.

Who on earth would let their dog run loose this close to a highway?

He obviously belonged to someone. His coat shone and he was well-fed. He was also not leaving.

I finally turned and took three steps into the field and stopped. Eventually, he grew bored and left. My heart was hammering in my chest. I waited until he was several blocks away before I steered The Kids toward home.

Now why was I so frightened?

I read dog books. Oodles and boodles of them. Not one author has ever slammed pit bulls. Not one! Why, then, does the media show them to be bloodthirsty terrorists of the dog world?

My personal history with pits has been short and obviously left a mark. When my children were small, we lived in the country, across the street (yes, in Cabot you can be in the country and across the street from a neighbor at the same time) from a family that owned a LOT of pit bulls. I think they had ten or twelve. The dad, a big burly redneck of a guy who was actually very sweet, took pains to introduce the children to his dogs and show them how nice they were. However, Mark brought home pizza one night for supper and one of the pits "attacked" him. I put it like that because I did not witness it and all Mark had to show for it was a gash on his finger. So I am not sure what happened but it certainly scared me.

Years earlier, Phil and I lived in a trailer park in J'ville. Billy and Kristie lived a few trailers away and had gotten a pit bull puppy. That puppy was the meanest puppy I ever met. At that point in my life, I had never owned a dog but had wanted one since I was eight. So I didn't have any experience, but I thought I "knew" dogs. (Side note: if anyone tells you they "know" dogs, don't trust them with yours.) So this puppy, that seemed very mean to me, "showed" me that pit bulls are very evil.

But.

I read a lot of Gary Paulsen and Jon Katz and Ken Foster. They talk about pits as though they are just another breed. These men have owned dozens of dogs. Surely they would know more than the media.

Foster says in one of his books that PETA (an organization I have grown to loathe) calls for the euthanization of all pits. That is enough to make me want to give them a second look.

I did an Internet search the other day looking for public view of Saints. I have owned and loved several, and I still think there is no dog that compares in beauty. Saints are just plain purty. But people jump out of the way and grab their kids up whenever I have Ella out.

I have to tell you Ella is not a typical Saint. But that is for another day.

So anyway, I was searching to see how Saints compare in lethal dog bites. I barely found anything, for all the media devoted to pit bulls.

So who is right? The media, or my dog men?